A schools vaccination programme to tackle an epidemic of measles saw just 39% of eligible pupils get the jab.

As reported, the Tees Outbreak Control Team, mobilised to tackle an ongoing outbreak of the potentially fatal illness, had hoped to give the MMR jab to 8,000 pupils across Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Hartlepool.

The programme ran across primary and secondary schools in all four boroughs from April 24 and throughout last month, in a bid to capture children who had missed out on their two doses of the jab as babies and in pre-school.

However, just 39% of the target, or approximately 3,120, pupils received the jab.

The figure was revealed as the latest data from Public Health England (PHE) showed Teesside saw 265 confirmed cases of measles in the first four months of 2013.

Sarah Bowman, a Stockton Council public health consultant, who has worked on tackling the outbreak, said: “The vaccination programme finished at the end of June and we have had a period where the data has been transferred over to GP practices.

“We are really pleased. The uptake has been that 39% [of pupils] who weren’t vaccinated fully have now been vaccinated through the schools-based campaign.

“However, we have still got a number of cases coming through and we are really keen to emphasise the importance of vaccination.”

Ms Bowman added parents can still take any children who have missed out on any of their MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - jabs to their own GP to get the vaccine.

She said: “We would really encourage them to do that. It’s the best form of protection and the higher the rate [of immunisation] the better.”

Ms Bowman said the decision on whether to have their children vaccinated always came down to individual parental choice, with 61% of those eligible choosing not to have their children vaccinated.

But she emphasised the Tees Outbreak Control Team was pleased schools had been “very supportive” of the programme.

She said: “The 39% uptake is a good start, but we would really encourage people to come and get their child vaccinated at the GP.

“The rate of increase of measles cases has slowed, which is good, but we are still getting new confirmed cases.

“It’s not gone, it’s still circulating in the community.”

Pupils at North Shore Academy in Stockton were among those vaccinated during May.

At the time, headteacher Bill Jordon said: “The students have been great about it. ”